Winnie?

At first glance, the blip may seem to have little to do with Winnie the Pooh, FrankS' theme for today. But to find the link, I will tell you a story about my best friend and I.

In July of 1983, at the age of 28, I needed emergency surgery for what we all thought was a burst appendix.  Turned out that it wasn't the appendix so the surgeon performed a wide ranging exploratory surgery. I would need a second surgery a few weeks later to fix what was ailing me.

I was not in one of the modern, more centralized hospitals in Buffalo and it was very far away from home. That led to few visitors, except for my mom who made it almost every day. Since my best friend (and apartment mate) could rarely visit, she went looking for a large Teddy bear for me to cuddle and comfort me. Not being able to find what she was looking for, she bought me this mouse. She had already named it Charlotte. It was just what I needed.

I had the second surgery with Charlotte by my side. It was another, but more serious, abdominal surgery.  Two weeks later on the morning of my discharge, a blood clot was found in my lung (pulmonary embolism), which was life threatening. I was in the hospital for a total of six weeks.  It was Charlotte who gave me the courage to endure.

Winnie the Pooh and friends learned a lot about courage and friendship and love throughout their adventures. I learned the same from my best friend (and my mom).